“Individually each one of the guys on Team FLG has been hunting for as long as we can remember. And not just hunting but fishing, trapping, big game, small game, upland game, birds, rodents, shooting trap, target shooting, camping and the list goes on. We live to be outdoors chasing adventure and pursuing game…It’s our passion as it always has been.

So naturally we have all developed the necessary skills and talents required to be good outdoors-men; through our upbringings, trial and error and perseverance. Now I’m not trying to say that we are experts in every field we pursue (except Chipmunk Hunting…we are damn fine at that.) but we are pretty darn proficient.

In our day to day interactions with people that aren’t outdoors-men or those who don’t take outdoor pursuits as seriously as us this usually causes us to be met with a lot of disbelief. You Killed THAT buck? How’d you start that fire so fast? You caught ANOTHER fish already? How many Coyotes did you call in? That Venison is amazing…YOU cooked that?…. the awestruck questions just keep on rolling and so the reflex response simply became. Well Yeah…That’s What We Do! Which in turn is usually followed by “Come here and I’ll show you how to do it”

As an outdoorsman it is almost a validation of sorts to have someone hardly believe what you accomplished when you put your mind to it. It is even more rewarding when you are introducing a newcomer to an outdoor pursuit to see their eyes light up when the realize that their potential and the possibilities in the great outdoors are truly endless.

So next time you are talking to a ‘regular’ person and they look at you bewildered and ask in awe if what they just saw was true. Just give them that cowboy smile and say, Well Yeah…That’s What We Do! Then take that person and show them how they can accomplish the same feat. Help kindle their outdoor flame because as a nation of outdoorsmen….That’s What We Do!”

“I never knew the joy of being a dad until I took my daughters hunting one year. We were sitting in the woods and my youngest daughter Danielle, we call her “MOMO”, was sitting asking how long are we going to be here and I replied just a couple hours.

I later asked if she wanted to shoot this doe that came along she replied, “no”. I said, “huh”, confused by the reply from her I was stunned so I replied to her, “then why did you even bother coming hunting with us this morning if you didn’t want to hunt anything”. She replied, “to spend time with my daddy.”

That was a wake up call that I have been hunting for so long. Being so focused on the hunt and harvesting an animal, I forgot the value of being in the outdoors all together, especially with my girls.

Don’t forget the value and freedom we have in the outdoors and most importantly don’t forget or take for granted the lessons and values we can all learn and the bond the outdoors can help create between a parent and a child.”

As I type this, Ryan Shoemaker of Bowhuntquest.com, is a few miles deep into the backcountry of Colorado hunting majestic Elk. Alone!

To him, failure is not an option. It’s a motto he lives by and incorporates into everything he does. Very inspiring!

According to Ryan:

“Webster’s defines commitment as – the state of being obligated or emotionally impelled.

For me, the words emotionally impelled doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Instead, the words I choose to define me are shoot, train, think, 365 days a year. Out of bed at 3:50a.m. to knock out 12 miles before work, I push to take to chance out of the equation. I refuse to let it define me. There are no breaks, no vacations, and certainly not an ounce of sympathy. It can never be a question of if I have what it takes, but only a question of when.

I’ve always been told that if you believe in something enough you can make it happen. So, I believe. I believe that I will never let my ability, determination, or drive become a stepping stone on the bridge to failure. Simply put, “quit” cannot and will not be part of my vocabulary. Failure Is Not an Option, is my only my option.”

You’ve got to be kidding

“Matt and I have strange luck. We decided to go duck hunting on Christmas eve in 2009. We drove 2 hours and sleet started coming down hard with 40+ winds. We couldn’t even setup decoys due to the wind, sleet, and waves. We drove 2 hours just to turn around? You’ve got to be kidding.

We happened to stop by a pond that’s known to be packed during duck season. No one is there. We left everything but our guns and shells at the truck. We walked a 1/2 mile in. There were 10 mallards on the edge. We crawled to within 10 yards and jumped up to shoot them. I got my first double! You’ve got to be kidding.

We ran to the truck and grabbed decoys, then back to the pond and setup. The snow had started a white-out scenario. We couldn’t see 40 yards, but ducks started piling in.

We limited out in 30 minutes despite all of this. We jumped in the truck and threw it in 4-wheel drive as the snow has accumulated to 5+ inches. Now we couldn’t see past the hood of the truck. You’ve got to be kidding.

A minivan was stuck in the middle of the road and we couldn’t dig it out. We tried to go around it and the boat high-centers on a snow bank. You’ve got to be kidding.

We tried to dig out to no avail. 7 hours later a farmer pulled us out with his enormous John Deer tractor. We got home 24 hours after we left to hunt at 3am Christmas morning. You’ve got to be kidding.

That’s just one of many stories where we’re left saying, You’ve got to be kidding.

Today, I’m starting a new series on Huntography – Deertour Whitetail deer hunting quotes and sayings. Actually it’s more than just a saying or quote. Each huntographer will also share the meaning behind their tagline and why it’s important to them.

The way this idea came about was from a simple email exchange that I had with all our 2011 huntographers. And it was on a totally different subject. You never know where an idea or inspiration to do something will come from.

You can’t kill ‘em on the couch

“This saying came from me and my brother ragging the guys that always talked a good game but never showed up when it was time to go. We would head out no matter the weather and stack them up while the others slept in and then made excuses about why they couldn’t go. But sure enough when we were hanging out together they would be sitting there making big plans about how they were going “next time” and how good they were going to do. As soon as they did Bubba and I would look at each other and laugh then the phrase came out.

To make it worse he started to take the umm nether regions of the bucks and hang them on door knobs, car antennas, rear view mirrors, you name it of the guys that didn’t show up when they said they would. After awhile they were all afraid to go out after the two of us had gone hunting.”